Apollo Vredestein’s new European distribution centre recently entered service. Located in Staalsteden, near the company’s Enschede plant, the centre has the capacity to store 500,000 tyres. The company says the additional storage space is needed to accommodate growing production and sales volumes, combined with a wider product range.
Cooper Tire & Rubber reports it has now manufactured more than two million passenger car tyres using silica masterbatch (SMB) technology developed together with Mexico’s Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V (INSA). The tyre maker says the technology has delivered a number of benefits, including improved mixing productivity and flexibility, the elimination of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions) which are associated with the standard silanisation process of mixing silica) and improved silica dispersion in tyre tread formulations. Cooper says better dispersion means superior traction, wear and rolling resistance performance.
On 25 July, United States Senator Sherrod Brown, who represents the state of Ohio, met with Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar Kanwar and vice chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar to urge them to protect jobs in his – and Cooper Tire & Rubber’s – home state.
Vehicle manufacturer Škoda has ‘Clarksoned’ a baby’s pram with 20-inch alloys and all-terrain tyres, plus other features not typically found in the Mothercare catalogue. The pram was given the works to mark the launch of Škoda's fastest ever car – the latest generation Octavia vRS.
Mobile tyre fitting service Grippy.co.uk is on board as TyreSafe’s newest member. Stuart Jackson, chairman of the safety organisation, describes Grippy’s sign up as “great news for car owners in and around Milton Keynes and across the country” as they will “now benefit from an even higher level of tyre safety advice when they have one of the friendly mobile tyre fitters from Grippy come to their premises.”
Financial analysts will need to form their own opinions when Cooper Tire & Rubber releases its second quarter 2013 financial results on 8 August. The US tyre maker has announced that in light of its pending acquisition – described as a “merger” in a Cooper press release – by India’s Apollo Tyres, the company will not host a financial community conference call. In the absence of this otherwise regular event a press release will be published on the tyre maker’s website, and Cooper says further information will be available in Form 10-Q of the company’s quarterly report.
Carlisle Companies, parent of Carlisle Transportation Products, says it will investigate “strategic alternatives” for its tyre and wheel subsidiary following quarter results punctuated by poor sales for the business unit.
Prema Canada, ULC, one of North America’s largest distributors of tyre and wheel service supplies, has named AME International as its supplier of the year. The award was presented last month during the company’s annual distributor training and vendor trade show in Toronto.
Although India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association recently expressed a measure of dissatisfaction about the domestic rubber situation, member company MRF Ltd’s latest quarter results show profits that have been helped by the commodity. In the three months between 1 April and 30 June (the third quarter of MRF’s financial year), the tyre maker’s net profit leapt 57.2 per cent to Rs 2.27 billion (£25.0 million).
In June Snap-on launched the Ethos Plus, a new entry level diagnostic tool. According to the company the Ethos Plus is a “compact, fast, accurate and versatile tool for solving today's diagnostic problems, designed for either the first time user – or for the experienced technician looking to add to their diagnostic toolbox”. The tool offers broad coverage of 30 manufacturers and functions including engine transmission, ABS, airbag, TPMS, hybrid power, body and climate control.
TTC is promoting its “Checkpoint” wheel safety indicators to distributors and fleet operators. The latest development is that TTC is offering special size-specific versions of its product.
A variety of sizes of wheel nut are commonly referred to as "27mm". However, the sizes actually range from 26.6mm, 26.7mm, 26.8mm all the way to 26.9mm with the larger sizes being fitted to the DAF45 range.
Pirelli has announced that it will take its P Zero Orange (hard) and White (medium) compound Formula One tyres to Spa and Monza this year, while the final street race in Singapore will see the use of the P Zero Red supersoft compound along with the White. If there a whiff of conservatism about Pirelli’s tyre choices for the two fastest tracks of the year, you wouldn’t necessarily blame the tyre supplier. Following the harshness and high profile of the criticism it has received in 2013 – building to the crescendo after the British grand prix – the latest announcement is perhaps an indication of a change in thinking; perhaps it would be good not to talk about degrading Pirelli tyres for a while. On the other hand, Pirelli reasons that at these most demanding of tracks, the harder compounds are simply best-equipped to deal with the conditions, and Pirelli has tended to steer clear of by default providing tyres two compound steps apart, as had become conventional in the recent past. Of course, Singapore will provide an opportunity to see if this idea provides more strategic choices for teams and drivers. Motorsport director Paul Hembery reiterated his view that the tyres selected would provide the “best opportunities for strategy” and be “the most effective race tyres.”
The 2013 NTDA Golf Day, sponsored once again by Westlake Tyres, was held on Wednesday, 24 July. The setting was the stunning stately home of Brocket Hall, which stands in 540 acres of grounds and boasts two championship golf courses. The NTDA event took place on the Palmerston course and, unlike last year at The Belfry, when a torrential rainstorm swept the course, the day's play took place in brilliant sunshine. A full list of winners is given below, but a couple of highlights were the guest speaker Adger Brown, who proved that comedy is not his only talent by winning the Les Amiss Bowl, and Brian O'Neill of the ITIA, who recorded a hole in one. The 'Beat the Pro' competition on the fifth hole raised the figure of £400 for BEN.
Marking the anniversary of its two-year/24,000 mile guarantee, Apec Braking is giving away four iPad Minis. Each time a guarantee is registered at the company’s website for every axle set of matching Apec discs and pads before 31 August 2013, the technician will be entered into its prize draw, offering the chance to win an Apple iPad Mini.
Having introduced a new range of brake discs at the beginning of the year, ACDelco’s UK and European aftermarket operation says the company has been “delighted with the uptake”. Taking in some 1,200 part numbers, the range provides comprehensive coverage of the pan-European vehicle parc and complements the distributor’s existing range of 1,500 brake pads.
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